Tom Nolle: The Big Reason to Use Office

Office and personal productivity tools come in a first-class and coach flavor set, but what makes the difference is primarily little things that most users won't encounter. What's the big issue in using something other than Office, and can you get around it?

Thanks so much for all these years of great video blogs sharing knowledge. I have learned a lot from you and enjoyed the discussions very much. I truly hope to continue watching your video blogs either on Information Week, or elsewhere. Stay connected. :)

To add to your comment, I think that for light use, products like Google Docs provide the sufficient level of functionality to get the job done... but for in depth anlysis, or very content rich documentation, that's where Office is king

thanks, Zerox203! I have to admit that I can't relate much to computers in my high-school period; we were still in the mainframe era at the time!

I think you raise the most-fundamental-of-all dilemma of software. Users know that they only need a few features and providers of it know that they have to promote MORE features to make their stuff differentiable and to encourage upgrades. We get more bloated every day.

For open-source and cloud office tools, the problem may be that they've seen the vast feature list and given up. They don't need them all, but they do need to do regular stuff right, if not the same way. A PowerPoint preso with no special stuff inside--just drawn shapes, text, and inserted clipart, should open and look the same everywhere, and yet it doesn't. Same with Word and Excel. Are competitors to Microsoft lazy, are they dodging patents, or what? It's hard know but I'd sure love to find out!

I've really enjoyed your vlogs over these last few years, Tom. There's a lot that fits under the umbrella of 'IT' - you can talk about anything from hardware, to software, to business strategies - and that's just for starters. No doubt it would be impossible for the editors to cover everything that's out there on the front page or turn over every stone, and a discussion like this is a great example of that - Microsoft Office might not be something that gets coverage alongisde the latest smartphone anymore, but it's still a relevant issue that affects many businesses every day. In the vlogs, we have an opportunity to go a little more in-depth on topics like that, and you've always provided a sharp, relevant insight that applies to any issue.

As for the issue at hand, I think you've hit the nail on the head once again. Even stretching back to my high school days, I remember the main issue with office software being one thing and one thing only - compatibility. I didn't want or need any of the extra bells or whistles, but what I did have to do was triple check that I used the right version of the right software, that they had the same exact version at school, and that I saved in the right format. I think that translates directly to the business world - and even though things have gotten a lot better since then, they're still not perfect. I'd love to say that the feature set of office software matters, and maybe for a few select businesses, it does - but far and away the biggest issue remains relatively needless compatibility problems.

Tom, logically the need of complex workings should not perish even if devices change. If I need to do something, I have to do it whether it compels me to switch on my PC. What Microsoft can do is to introduce an app that is tailored to meet basic office needs on mobile devices.

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